Greater Glasgow


Greater Glasgow is a geographical area in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area.
It does not relate to municipal government boundaries, and its territorial extent is defined by the National Records of Scotland, which determines settlements in Scotland for census and statistical purposes. Greater Glasgow had a population of 1,199,629 at the time of the 2001 UK Census making it the largest urban area in Scotland and the fifth-largest in the United Kingdom. However, the population estimate for the Greater Glasgow 'settlement' in mid-2016 was 985,290—the reduced figure explained by the removal of the Motherwell & Wishaw, Coatbridge & Airdrie, and Hamilton settlement areas east of the city due to small gaps between the populated postcodes. The 'new towns' of Cumbernauld and East Kilbride were never included in these figures despite their close ties to Glasgow due to having a clear geographical separation from the city. In the 2020 figures, the Greater Glasgow population had risen to just over 1 million.
A more extensive Greater Glasgow concept covers a much larger area and may include Ayrshire down to Ayr as well as the whole of Lanarkshire down to Lanark, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, and Inverclyde. At present, the Glasgow City Region consists of the Glasgow City Council, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, and Inverclyde Local Authorities, with a combined population of over 1.7 million. This city-region is described as a metropolitan area by its own strategic planning authority and is similar to the Glasgow metropolitan area identified by the European Union.
The City of Glasgow grew substantially in population during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, becoming in 1912 the eighth city in Europe to reach the one million mark after Rome, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. The official population stayed over a million for fifty years. Since the 1960s, successive boundary changes and large-scale relocation to suburban districts and new towns have reduced the population of the City of Glasgow council area to 593,245 at the time of the 2011 UK Census.

Urban Area

Following the local government boundary changes in 1996 and the creation of the present day unitary councils in Scotland, replacing the former regional and district councils, the Greater Glasgow Settlement Area or Urban Area was created for the 2001 Census from groups of neighbouring urban postcodes grouped so that each group of postcode units contains at least a given number of addresses per unit area, and the group contains at least 500 residents. The localities that make up Greater Glasgow are listed below:
LocalityCouncil areaPopulation
Population
Population
Population
AirdrieNorth Lanarkshire12,43636,32637,41036,390
BargeddieNorth Lanarkshire2,3252,7902,9603,210
BarrheadEast Renfrewshire16,70317,44317,61017,890
BearsdenEast Dunbartonshire27,70727,96728,12028,470
BellshillNorth Lanarkshire20,07520,13420,29019,700
BishopbriggsEast Dunbartonshire23,82523,11823,54023,680
BlantyreSouth Lanarkshire16,90016,800
BothwellSouth Lanarkshire6,3806,870
BowlingWest Dunbartonshire5,5005,500560560
BrookfieldRenfrewshire540880
BusbyEast Renfrewshire1,6171,6543,2503,310
CambuslangSouth Lanarkshire23,21224,50029,10030,790
ChapelhallNorth Lanarkshire4,4055,6916,6907,140
ChrystonNorth Lanarkshire3,0003,100
ClarkstonEast Renfrewshire18,89919,1369,8609,800
ClydebankWest Dunbartonshire29,17129,85826,32025,620
CoatbridgeNorth Lanarkshire40,32041,17043,96043,950
Duntocher and HardgateWest Dunbartonshire7,8827,3016,8806,680
ElderslieRenfrewshire5,1665,1805,3305,480
ErskineRenfrewshire15,16615,34715,51015,010
FaifleyWest Dunbartonshire6,0874,9324,8604,740
GartcoshNorth Lanarkshire2,2002,920
GiffnockEast Renfrewshire16,19016,17812,30012,250
GlasgowGlasgow City658,379629,501612,040632,350
HamiltonSouth Lanarkshire44,65853,45754,08054,480
InchinnanRenfrewshire1,2331,5741,8601,820
JohnstoneRenfrewshire18,28016,46816,09015,930
KilbarchanRenfrewshire3,7103,6223,4803,300
LinwoodRenfrewshire10,1839,0588,6008,450
MilngavieEast Dunbartonshire11,99212,79512,94012,840
MoodiesburnNorth Lanarkshire6,8906,830
MotherwellNorth Lanarkshire27,42630,30132,59032,840
MuirheadNorth Lanarkshire1,3801,830
NetherleeEast Renfrewshire4,6004,530
Newton MearnsEast Renfrewshire19,34222,63726,60028,210
Old KilpatrickWest Dunbartonshire2,4083,1994,6804,470
PaisleyRenfrewshire73,92574,17077,22077,270
RenfrewRenfrewshire20,76420,25122,57024,270
RutherglenSouth Lanarkshire25,00025,00031,19030,950
StamperlandEast Renfrewshire3,6403,630
SteppsNorth Lanarkshire4,9424,8027,4507,700
ThornliebankEast Renfrewshire3,9804,0514,0704,170
UddingstonSouth Lanarkshire6,3706,300
WishawNorth Lanarkshire26,43928,56430,29030,050

Transport

In 1973, the Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive was created to take over control of Glasgow Corporation Transport. Following local government reorganisation in 1975, control subsequently passed to Strathclyde Regional Council. The former PTE is now a regional transport partnership known as Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, with most responsibilities being passed to Transport Scotland.
The city is served by the only metro system in Scotland, the Glasgow Subway; and by two international airports, Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Glasgow Airport.Strathclyde is also served by the largest suburban rail network in the UK outside of London.

Glasgow City Region

The Glasgow City Region is a collection of local authorities clustered around Glasgow. It is a partnership of eight councils focused on economic growth. It has no independent legal status. The eight constituent authorities are:
  • Glasgow
  • East Dunbartonshire
  • West Dunbartonshire
  • North Lanarkshire
  • South Lanarkshire
  • East Renfrewshire
  • Renfrewshire
  • Inverclyde
The population of this area in 2011 was 1,787,515. The city region is not a conurbation as significant parts of the council areas are separated from Greater Glasgow by open countryside. It uses numerous other terms for itself, including Metropolitan Glasgow, the metropolitan City-Region of Glasgow, Glasgow and the Clyde Valley and Clydeside.
As a collection of individual local authorities the city region has no single municipal government however, following the agreement of a City Deal with the UK Government, the eight constituent authorities formally established a joint Glasgow and Clyde Valley Cabinet on 20 January 2015. This cabinet consists of the leaders of all eight councils, with the leader of Glasgow City Council being Chair of the Cabinet. Prior to 2015 the eight authorities formed only a combined strategic planning authority.